Saving Clara
by AmeliaRoseOswald
Summary: When Phil Coulson rescues a young girl from an abusive home after unusual behaviour of the weather was noticed, he, along with the rest of SHIELD, may be in for more then they bargained for. Phil realizes that the girl can't just be treated as a tool. She needs to be loved, and taught that there still is good in the world, and it's worth fighting for.
1. Chapter 1

Clara's life is a nightmare. Every night, the yelling, the screaming, and then the deafening silence. Her dad, drunk and delusional, comes home after a day of drinking and gambling. He then proceeds to hit Clara's mom, blaming her for the day's losses. Clara's mom would do her best to keep her husband's attention away from Clara, but sometimes there was no distracting him. Clara, wrapped tightly in her trashy blanket that's full of holes, awaits his storming entry to her room with a pool of dread and pure fear in her stomach.

"Clara!" He growls. "You pathetic, whimpering child!" He pulls her and her cocoon of blankets off the bed, onto the floor.

"Daddy, please! Not again!" Clara begs, but to no avail. Clara's father, ignoring her cries, calls her cruel things.

"You are stupid! An idiot! You rotten, ugly, horrible child! How could anybody ever love you?" As soon as the first kick comes, rain suddenly begins pouring on their roof. He raises his hand, and he hits her until her whole body is black and blue. Clara cries and cries until she runs out of tears. When she finally becomes unresponsive to the beatings, exhausted to the point where she can't make a sound, her father leaves her room.

Clara lies on the floor, falling asleep the second her dad leaves.

The next day, Clara's dad is gone again, back at the casino.

"Mom, why can't we just leave?" Clara's mom is on the verge of tears, staring at her daughter's horribly bruised face.

"Because, sweetie, your dad will chase us… he will never let us go." Clara, completely out of tears, simply curls up in her mom's arms. Her whole body shakes.

"Please," Clara whispers. "Somebody save me."

* * *

"Agent Coulson, Sir?" An Agent is to the right of Phil Coulson, standing stiffly.

"Yes?"

"Director Fury has an assignment for you. He asks that you come to the debriefing room."

"Thank you. I will come immediately." Phil follows the stiff Agent all the way to the debriefing room. The Agent stops at the door, opens it for Phil, and then closes it once Phil is inside.

"Director, what can I do for you?" Phil asks curiously. "Another O-8-4?" Director Fury nods his head in confirmation.

"There are two things I need you to check out. Some robbers are trading some very valuable and VERY dangerous chemicals on the black market in Fonda, New York. I'm sending you in to stop the trading, and bring us the chemicals." Phil bobs his head in understanding.

"The second is I need you to check out an O-8-4. We have noticed some extremely sudden downpours happening extremely often in Fonda. The only thing is, on all of these occasions there was not a single cloud in the sky until one second before the rain starts. Out of the blue, tons of storm clouds just appear. I know this may sound strange, but I want to find out if somebody has invented a weather controlling device. Or, it could be something else." Phil nods, not at all skeptical.

"We have narrowed down the options to what we believe to be the source of the spontaneous rain; I will send you the address once you're in a quinjet."

"No problem Sir. When am I being deployed? Who am I working with?"

"Just a couple agents that are professionals in hand to hand combat. You are being deployed tonight. Get ready as fast as you can, then grab your team and get in a quinjet."

"Mom!" Clara whimpers, hearing her dad's loud coughing and clinging bottles outside the front door.

"Remember the plan, Clara. Just sit there. Everything is going to be alright." Clara's mom was standing behind the front door. When Clara's dad walks in the door, Clara's mom will spring out and attack him with a piece of Clara's metal bedframe. Clara can imagine just how much it will hurt to get hit on the head with it.

Clara's dad walks in the door, holding a beer bottle in each hand. Seeing Clara, sitting on the floor with her knees tucked against her chest, Clara's dad laughs.

"If it isn't my little disgrace of a-" He is interrupted by Clara's mom, who is now attacking him with the piece of metal. Clara's poor, weak mom is simply not a match for him. He grabs the piece of metal, ripping it out of her hand and throwing it away. Clara ducks as it flies over her head, just missing her. He then grabs Clara's mom by the neck, and smashes he head against the wall. He throws her down on the floor by Clara.

"Mom?" Clara says, looking at her mom's emotionless face. That's when she starts to bleed. Blood pours out of the gash on her mom's head.

"MOM!" Clara screams.

"I'm sorry, Clara. I love you." Her body goes limp; her eyes gloss over – still open. There is a knock at the door, but it goes unnoticed.

Clara's dad pulls back his fist, ready to punch Clara.

"NOOO!" Clara screams at the top of her lungs. Lightening crashes through the roof, striking her dad; killing him instantly. Clara looks up in shock, and sees that the front door had been busted open just in time for the people entering to see the lightening.

* * *

Phil knocks on the front door at the address he had been given. Nobody answers, but when he hears a girl's voice scream, that becomes irrelevant. Phil busts the door down, drawing his gun. Out of nowhere he is blinded by a flash of light, and his ears hurt at the mere volume of the CLAP he hears. Blinking his eyes, Phil takes in the scene in front of him. There is the corpse of a large man, burnt to a crisp. There is a lady, lying on the floor with a large pool of blood around her head. Last of all, he sees the girl, sitting in the middle of it all. Her face is hardly recognizable; it's completely covered in bruises. She has a look of pure terror frozen on her face, and she is sitting completely still, frozen in shock.

"What is going on?" Phil yells at the girl. She shakes her head slightly. She turns around quickly, looking at the woman lying on the floor.

"Mom, mom, its ok now. Please wake up. Dad isn't gonna hurt us any more, something happened. I don't know, mommy, oh please wake up!" Phil hears the girl say. She lies her head down on the woman's chest. She begins to sob, her whole body heaving. With a sigh, he puts his gun back in his holster, the other Agents following suit. Phil walks over to the girl, crouching down beside her. He looks at the woman, and at a second's glance he knows she is dead.

"Hey, let's get you out of here." Phil says to her. The girl ignores him, and keeps talking to the body.

"Mom, please, please mom, we can be happy now. Don't leave me."

"I'm sorry… She is dead." Phil says, at loss for something better to say. The girl in unresponsive. Phil reaches out picks up the girl, shocked at how light she is. He carries her in his arms like a baby. She looks up at him, as if only seeing him for the first time. She begins to scream, squirming out of Phil's arms. She runs to the closest door, opens it and runs inside. She closes the door, but leaves a crack to look out.

"It's ok; I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you!" Phil looks up, startled. Rain starts to pound on the roof, confirming what Director Fury had said.

"You're safe now. We are the good guys. You know the Avengers? Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye? I work with them! They are my friends." Phil is speaking in his best 'kid voice', and the other Agents look at each other, amazed at how nice and kind Agent Coulson sounds. But, the girl still doesn't respond.

"How old are you?" Phil asks.

"I'm fourteen," She hesitantly answers. Phil is shocked – she looks so much younger, because of her size.

"Can you come with me? I promise I'll keep you safe." She opens the door a little wider, and does her best to avoid looking at the bodies on the floor.

"I… I guess so. It's... It's not like I have anywhere else…" She opens the door fully, but she still looks somewhat frightened.

"Let's go, you must be starving. You can have food once we get to... well, where we are going." She brightens at the prospect of food.

"I am."

"You are what?"

"Starving. I haven't eaten for a few days." Phil looks shocked, before his mouth settles at a grim line of disapproval.

"I'm sorry… Let's go get you food." Phil holds out his hand, and she slowly walks towards him. She carefully reaches out her shaking hand, putting it into his.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you all so much for reading! Please leave a review, hearing from you guys motivates me to keep writing.**

* * *

"You're telling me that the 0-8-4 is a GIRL?" Director Fury stares Phil down. Phil replies, unflinchingly.

"Yes, Sir. She struck her dad with LIGHTENING. She did that right after he killed her mom and was about to hit her. I'm guessing she can't control it yet, but she can manipulate the weather." Director Fury turns around to look at the girl through the 1 way mirror. She is now wearing SHIELD issued clothing. Director Fury grimaces as he sees the bruises covering her arms and face. They were all green, purple and black; extremely painful. She is sitting at a table, ravenously eating sandwiches. She has about five in front of her, and she soon finishes.

"Coulson, what are we supposed to do with a kid? A kid with powers they can't control?" Director Fury asks Phil.

"This is a flying warship; armed to the brim and filled with soldiers. It's not a place for a child." Phil is silent for a minute, thinking over the options. He looks through the one way mirror at her, where he sees her with her head on the table, eyes closed, rubbing her stomach. She most likely ate too much too fast, and is feeling sick. Phil feels a pang of guilt for allowing her to be in such discomfort.

"I can train her," Phil says, quietly. "I could be her SO. Train her, hone her powers. She is an asset, and it would be cruel to put her in an orphanage. She would be so different – other people would find out about her powers, and use her for bad. I don't see any other option, Director." Director Fury nods his assent, and Phil walks towards the door to enter the room the girl is in.

She looks frightened at first; quickly swinging her head around to face the door, but calms down when she sees it is just Phil. Phil walks over to the table and sits beside her.

"Hi," Phil says, kindly.

"Thank you," she says. "Those sandwiches were delicious." Phil just nods his head, staring in wonder at this strong girl in front of him.

"You never said your name." The girl comments, staring at the table where the empty plate sits.

"Call me Phil. And you, young lady, what is it you wish me to call you by?" Phil puts on a horrible imitation of an Asgardian accent on as he says this. The girl doesn't laugh, and instead she continues to stare at the table. She reluctantly raises her gaze to meet Phil's. Phil can the misery and exhaustion in her eyes.

"I'm Clara." She simply states.

"What is your last name?" Clara frowns, scrunching her face up as though she tasted something foul.

"I don't want my last name. It's my dad's." Phil just nods, and she continues. "I heard one of the people who brought me in here call you Agent Coulson. What are you people, spies or something?" Phil sighs, though he knew he would have to explain this to her.

"Remember what I said, about working with superheroes?" it is Clara's turn to nod.

"Well, it's true. We are called SHIELD. SHIELD is a secret organization that protects people – and not just America; the world." Phil observes Clara's face intently, wondering how she will react.

"I've never seen a Super Hero before. I never leave my house." Phil shakes his head in frustration at the cruelty she must have endured.

"Soon, I think, you will get to meet them in person.

"Now, I suppose we should talk about… your powers." Clara stares blankly at Phil, not comprehending what he said.

"The rain? The lightning? Did you think it was just a freak accident?"

"You think… You think I did that? With the lightening?" Phil silently nods his head. With that idea in her head, Clara looks at her hands in wonder.

"The rain…" Clara mutters, the dots connecting in her head. "Every time he hurt me, it began to rain. Of course, I never really paid much attention to it. I guess it happens when I'm really sad, scared or hurt?" Her eyes tear up slightly.

"So when dad killed mom," Clara closes her eyes for a second. "I was angry. Scared and angry; I was fed up with him." Clara's hands begin to shake.

"Phil, I killed him. I killed my dad. I killed him." Clara begins to cry. Phil, at a somewhat loss for what to say, just puts a hand on Clara's back. Phil looks up, startled, to hear pounding rain and thunder outside the helicarrier.

"Clara," Phil whispers, hiding his surprise. "Clara, it's ok. You couldn't control it, and it was out of self defense. You need to be happy. You're free now. Clara listen to me." Clara looks at Phil, eyes full of sadness. Her crying slows to hiccupping, and she wipes the tears out of her eyes. Clara suddenly propels herself forward, and wraps her arms around Phil. Phil doesn't move for a moment, in shock at the sudden physical contact. He slowly and hesitantly wraps his arms around her, and she puts her head under his chin.

With a smile, Phil looks at the young girl who takes comfort in his embrace. He hasn't had this before; well, at least for a long, long time. He pulls her fully onto his lap, her legs out the right side.

"Let's get you in a bed, ok Clara?" She nods her head, but doesn't move from her position. Phil resignedly puts his arm under her legs, and leaves his left arms wrapped around Clara's back. Phil stands up, and walks over to the door.

"Open, please," He says. An Agent opens the door, looking strangely at Phil. Phil walks out the door, and then turns back to the Agent.

"Lead me to an extra bedroom, please." The Agent nods, though he is still looking strangely at Phil.

"Yes, of course, Sir. Right this way." Phil follows the Agent through a series of hallways. They pass doctors, scientists, and other field Agents. They stop outside a door, and the Agent opens it.

"Right in here, Sir." Phil nods a thank you, and then walks into the room, kicking the door shut behind him. He turns on the light with his shoulder, and sees the meager room with just the necessities. A closet filled with SHIELD issued clothing, a night table with a lamp, a chair, and a twin bed. The blankets on the bed are already pulled back, ready to get in. Thank goodness. Phil can't help but think. It would be difficult to pull them back with a child in his arms.

Phil puts Clara down on the bed, and then pulls the covers over her.

"Phil, can you stay in here? I don't want to be alone." Phil is shocked, but when he sees her pleading eyes, he realizes that Clara needs him.

"Of course, Clara." He says with a smile. Phil walks to the chair, and sits down in it. He closes his eyes, hoping to get some shuteye while in here.

"Clara, I think we should train tomorrow. There is no better time than now to learn how to control your powers." Clara's face darkens, but she nods all the same.

"Ok," She replies. Phil realizes that he left the lights on, and quickly hops out of his chair to turn them off. Phil sits down in the chair, closing his eyes once again.

* * *

Phil is awakened by chatter in his comm.

"Coulson! Coulson, report!" Director Fury's annoyed voice yells. Phil, now wide awake, replies.

"Agent Coulson here."

"COULSON! ABOUT TIME you replied!" Phil glances over at Clara, but even in the dark, he can tell she isn't there. He jumps up and turns on the light. He turns around, and Clara's bed is indeed empty.

"Sir, Clara is gone!"

"GO FREAKING FIGURE. She is in the kitchen, I suggest you get there FIVE SECONDS AGO." Phil is struck momentarily by how quiet and stealthy she must have been to slip past him. Brushing off the thought, Phil runs out of the room, and darts as fast as he can to the kitchen. Phil stands in the doorway, completely astounded with what he sees. Clara is standing in the center of the kitchen, looking genuinely frightened. Surrounding her, in a large circle, are tons of Agents. With their guns drawn. Phil can hear thunder, not at all far overhead. One of the Agents is yelling at Clara.

"Stop with the lightening! It has already hit three times at different parts of the helicarrier. Stop, or we will consider it an act of attack, and we will shoot!"

"STOP!" yells Phil. He runs to Clara, and puts an arm around her shoulder.

"You are all idiots. Did you not hear that we have a CHILD with powers she CANT CONTROL YET on board? I thought Director Fury made an announcement or something! Put the guns away!" The Agents reluctantly put their guns back in their holsters. The thunder immediately stops, along with the rain.

"She was hungry. This is your fault, you should know better than to scare a little girl with powers in the middle of the night." Phil shakes his head in disgust.

Phil crouches down in front of Clara.

"Are you all right?" He asks. Clara nods her head silently.

"The next time you get hungry, just ask. You don't have to sneak it, you can have as much food as you like!" Clara looks down ashamedly. Old habits die hard.

"You can leave, now." Phil tells the Agents, a cold look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Clara. None of the people on board know how to deal with younger people." Heck, neither do I! Phil can't help but think. Clara bobs her head, still having not said a word.

"Are you still hungry?" Phil asks.

"Yes." Clara peeps. Phil kindly grabs her hand and leads her to the giant fridge. When the door is open, Clara looks at the food in wonder. Phil looks contemplatively at the back of her head. Clara's long, red hair is still full of dirt, and… Is that blood? Phil asks himself skeptically. Phil forgot to get Clara a shower! I will get her one in the morning. For now, she just needs food and sleep. Clara picks an apple out of the fridge, and then Phil walks her back to the room.

Phil closes the door, locking it this time.

"Clara, no more leaving the room without me. Ok? Wake me up if you need something." Clara nods her head solemnly while happily chomping on her apple. Phil sits back down in the chair, exhausted. This is going to be quite the journey. He thinks, tiredly. Some thirty minutes later, Phil finally manages to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Clara's first person POV.

I wake up slowly, but my eyes take a while to adjust. My eyes water, dry from being up late, I suppose. I push myself into a sitting position. I scratch my head, but I am surprised to find my hair a matted mess. I pull a chunk of hair in front of my face, and I see that it's full of dirt and… blood. I let the chunk fall, doing my best not to cry. I adjust myself, and notice the bed seems a lot more comfortable than before. And the blanket… there are no holes. I rub my eyes, and they finally adjust. Wait a second… where am I?

There is a man sitting in a chair by the door, and his head is leaning down in a position so I can't see his face. He is wearing a black suit, and I can see the wire going into his ear that connects to what I'm guessing is a communication device. I am in a bedroom, but it definitely isn't my own. Have I been kidnapped? I begin to panic, and before I can stop myself I begin to hyperventilate. I've got to get out of here. I quickly hop out of the bed, but I get a head rush. My hyperventilating is giving me a light head. I dizzily stumble to the door, but I collapse before I reach it. The noise I make falling to the ground wakes the man in the chair. He jumps to his feet, startled. I press my cheek to the cold concrete floor in an attempt to clear my head. The man runs towards me, and picks me up off the floor, standing me up.

"Clara, are you all right? What's wrong?" How does he know my name? Where am I?

"Who… Who are…?" I can't seem to get a full sentence out. I begin to shake, my entire body vibrating. The heat seeps out of my body, leaving me cold. My eyes roll up into my head, and I collapse. The last thing I'm aware of is the man catching me, and then I fall unconscious.

* * *

Phil's first person POV.

When Clara collapses, the first answer that pops into my head is; panic attack. She is having a panic attack. I scramble to pick her up, holding her with one arm behind her back and the other under her legs. I walk to the door, and in order to open it I have to twist the arm holding her back in a position to turn the doorknob, while still holding the back. Once the door is open, I speed walk to the infirmary. I pass only a few people in the halls, so it must still be early. They all give me strange looks, and I can't blame them. I am carrying an unconscious girl with dirt and blood in her hair. Once I arrive at the infirmary, I quickly find a bed to put her down on.

"Doctor!" I yell, and soon one comes scurrying over.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"I think she is having a panic attack. She couldn't remember who I was, and she was really pale and cold. Then she collapsed." The Doctor nods, and replies, looking serious.

"The best thing to do is just wait until she wakes up. She needs to calm down on her own, and once she wakes up, just convince her that she isn't in danger. Has anything traumatizing happened to her in the past few days?" I let out a laugh, but it is just a release of nervous energy. I think about all the things this poor girl has gone through, and all I can do is nod my head.

I decide that I need to contact Director Fury, just to update him on the 0-8-4's condition.

"Director Fury? I'm calling in an update on the 0-8-4. Are you there?" I say into my comm.

"I'm here, Coulson. What is the update?"

"This morning she had a panic attack. She couldn't remember who I am, and she was trying to escape; but she collapsed before she could get out the door. I'm with her in the infirmary, at the moment." Director Fury is silent for a moment, and then he replies.

"Is that… worry I hear in your voice? You know we cannot afford to grow attached. You said it yourself; she is an asset. A tool. And maybe someday, she will be more, like the Avengers." I know that what I say next will impact the rest of Clara's life. I can either treat her like an 0-8-4, or a human. A tool or a girl. Something to be used or something to be loved.

These thoughts are going through my head, and I shock myself. My mouth hangs slightly open as I realize the word I used. Loved. The pain I feel inside confirms it – I do feel something for this girl. For Clara. When I first saw her in her house, what I first thought was pity I now recognise as sympathy. Caring.

"Coulson?" Director Fury asks, annoyed with my silence.

"Sir, she is a girl. Not a tool."

"One night, Coulson. That is all it has been. One. Night. And all of the sudden, you go soft. I'm starting to think you being her SO was not such a good idea."

"Give me a chance, Sir. This girl – you didn't see what I did. She deserves a better life. And I'm willing to try my hardest to get that for her. She has powers, and someday; yes. She just might help save the world. But right now, Sir, she is a fourteen year old orphan, and she needs somebody. Just let me try." I hear Director Fury sigh, giving in.

"Fine." With that, the conversation is over.

I pull up a chair, and sit beside Clara's bed.

"As soon as you wake up, you can shower and clean up. I'm sorry, Clara. I'm so, so sorry. I can't believe what you have gone through." I whisper, setting my hand on Clara's head. The Doctor walks over to Clara and I, clearing her throat quietly to get my attention.

"I just wanted to quickly talk to you more about the girl. You said that when she woke up, she couldn't remember who you were?" I simply nod.

"How long have you known her?"

"Actually, I just met her yesterday." The Doctor nods as if I confirmed several suspicions.

"You said she had gone through something traumatizing. Exactly… how traumatizing?" I give the Doctor a sad look.

"She has been abused all her life. Yesterday, her dad killed her mom. We rescued her right before her dad was going to do the same to her." I chose not to mention that she killed her dad after that, because then I would have to explain her powers – and at the moment, that was level 7 information.

"I'm sorry," The Doctor says pityingly. "What I suspect is that yesterday, she was in shock. She was in a trance like state, not truly taking anything in. After she slept last night, she woke up and the shock had worn off; taking her memories of yesterday with it.

I put my head in my hands and let out a moan. The Doctor slowly walks away, deciding to leave me to my thoughts.

This means that I will have to explain everything to her again. Everything about her powers, SHIELD, where she is, and… her parents. Maybe I shouldn't tell her that she killed her dad. I shouldn't burden a fourteen year old with that.

I sit in the chair for another thirty minutes, pondering over what I was going to say to Clara when she woke up.

"Mom?" Clara says, looking at her mom's emotionless face. Blood pours out of the gash on her mom's head.

"MOM!" Clara screams.

"I'm sorry, Clara. I love you." Her body goes limp. Clara's dad pulls back his fist, ready to punch Clara.

"NOOO!" Clara screams at the top of her lungs. Lightening crashes through the roof, striking her dad, killing him instantly.

* * *

Clara's third person POV.

Clara flies into a sitting position in the bed, sitting with her back completely straight. She is breathing heavily, taking deep breaths in and out. Clara looks around, and sees the many beds with white sheets in the infirmary. She looks to her right and sees a man sitting in a chair, looking at her with a strange expression. An expression that she hasn't seen before; worry.

"Clara, are you alright?" He asks.

"Who are you?" She replies, shying away from him.

"I am Phil Coulson." She looks at him, curious but at the same time wary. "I saved you." Clara's eyes widen.

"Thank you," Says Clara. She remembers whispering to herself 'Please, somebody save me'.

"You are safe now." He tells her, moving to sit on the hospital bed next to her. She flinches away. He slowly wraps his arms around Clara, and at first she stiffens. But, as she notices the warm feeling she gets when he hugs her, she leans into his hug. They stay that way for a while, Clara enjoying the feeling of safety.

When Clara pulls back, she looks Phil in the eyes.

"Where is my mom?" Phil looks sad, but doesn't answer.

"I had a dream. She… She died. Where is she?" Phil looks surprised.

"What exactly happened in your dream?" He asks, avoiding her question.

"Mom was on the ground, bleeding. My dad hit her head on the wall and threw her there. She…" Clara pauses briefly. "She died. Then, lightening came down through the roof! It hit my dad. He died too. And then…" Clara scrunches up her face, concentrating. She looks at Phil, and then says; "You walked in?"

Phil sighs, and then puts each of his hands on one of Clara's shoulders.

"Clara, that wasn't just a dream. All of it happened yesterday." Her eyes go wide, and tears start to stream down her face. She shakes her head, denying it.

"No. No it didn't." Her voice is forceful, but her face is wide open and raw with pain. Phil pulls her into a hug once again, and holds her there. Her whole body shakes as she cries, and she repeats "No," over and over again.

Phil hates seeing her so distressed, but he doesn't know what else to do. So, he just holds her there for as long as she needs.


End file.
